Two explosions rocked the state of Punjab on Tuesday evening, just hours away and about 90 kilometers away, sparking an alarm in the state.
An explosion occurred outside the Border Security Force headquarters on the Punjab border at the entrance to the main city of Jalandhar, in an area called BSF Chowk. A few hours later, another explosion occurred near an army camp, this time 90 km away in Amritsar, sending the security agencies, already on alert after the Jalandhar incident, into a frenzy.
Motorbike explosion in Jalandhar
The explosion occurred outside the Punjab Border Guard Force headquarters in Jalandhar on Tuesday evening in a two-wheeler parked on the roadside. The authorities cordoned off the entire area, while senior police officers rushed to the scene.
The impact of the explosion can be gauged from the fact that the scattered remains of the car were scattered near the scene.
While Jalandhar Police Commissioner Dhanpreet Kaur Randhawa said that prima facie, there was nothing wrong, the Khalistan Liberation Army (KLA) claimed responsibility for the blast through a social media post.
The group claimed that the blast was part of retaliation to confront the prime accused in the killing of two security personnel in Durangla in Gurdaspur near the Indo-Pak border. HT was unable to verify the authenticity of the social media post.
“We have cooperated with teams of Border Security Forces, who are working with our forensic experts to find out the exact reason behind the explosion. The owner of the two-wheeler is being interrogated,” Jalandhar CP Randhawa said. She added that a comprehensive investigation is underway.
Amritsar camp incident
Just hours after an explosion occurred outside the Border Security Forces headquarters in Jalandhar, another explosion-like incident was reported in Amritsar late at night.
The incident occurred near the border wall of the army camp along Al Khassa Road. The impact damaged a tin plate fixed to the wall, which is said to be used to block views from the outside.
Amritsar Rural SSP Sohail Qasim Mir confirmed the blast and said they received information about a loud noise in the area around 11:15 pm. Immediately, police teams moved to the location.
Officials found that part of the tin plate had been hit and had fallen off. Initial assessment indicates that an object may have been thrown against the wall, causing the sound. No injuries or major damage were reported.
Security agencies, including rapid response teams, forensic specialists and a bomb disposal unit, arrived at the site shortly after. The collected materials were sent for analysis to determine the nature and cause of the accident.
A joint search operation was launched, in which the army and border guard forces participated, to further investigate the incident.
Amritsar police restricted public movement in certain areas on Wednesday to investigate the nature of the sudden explosion. “I learned that an explosion has occurred here. We will close the road for monitoring,” Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Karam Singh, while speaking to ANI, said.
Politics heats up
Expressing his fear at the possible disruption of peace, Punjab Congress president and MP Amarinder Singh Raja Waring, in a post on X, wrote, “Successive blasts have rocked Punjab. Yesterday in Jalandhar, and now near the Khasa camp in Amritsar – this is deeply worrying. Who is trying to destabilize our state? Why has the Punjab government failed to prevent such incidents? What is the government of India doing? Repeated lapses indicate that the serious collapse of intelligence and security in Punjab cannot harmed, and we demand accountability and immediate action.”
Amritsar MP Gurjit Singh Aujla also expressed concern over the incident and launched an attack on the Bhagwant Mann government.
“Sri Amritsar Sahib is not only an important border area, it is also a major destination for thousands of tourists from India and abroad. An incident of this kind occurring near security agencies in such a sensitive area is a matter of grave concern to the national security system as well. The AAP government has so far failed to ensure the safety of the people of Punjab and instead has pushed the state into an environment of fear and insecurity. This is also adversely impacting the state’s economy, investments and tourism. I request the Hon’ble Sahib and the Union Home Minister to immediately intervene in this matter and order a high-level investigation And transparent, to ensure that strict punishments are meted out to those responsible in accordance with the law. At the same time, it is extremely necessary to take effective and immediate steps to further strengthen security arrangements in the border state of Punjab.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and former state minister Bikramjit Singh Majithia has gone a step further than Ujla, urging the President of India to intervene in the matter.
